Laki'ahn (second to third pedestal)
When you do reach the second pedestal, pick up the Slate and take it with you again, and head into Cage D, then out of the open gate, up the canal and along the tunnel, at the end of which you will find yourself in an arena.
To your right is another open gate; the canal it leads to takes you between the wattle fences and to the crane you saw earlier: obviously, the crane was used for hauling the sea creatures into the canal, so that they could be ushered into the arena.
Head back along the canal and into the arena again. As you near the podium in the centre of the amphitheatre, you will be able to see the next pedestal on top of it. Climb up one of the ramps and you will see that there is a bridge connecting the podium to the next level of the amphitheatre; however, as yet you have seen no other way to access that level.
Aligning the wall are a series of devices. On the far left is an alcove which seems to function as some form of weighing device. At the base of the alcove is a scale, while two thirds of the way up the wall are four pairs of holes. To the right of each pair of holes is a set of concentric circles—next to the top pair, four circles; to the next pair down, three circles; and so on. When you stand on the scale with the Slate, two red indicators appear in the third row of holes—next to the symbol with three circles—and one indicator appears in the lowest pair.
Further along the wall are four contraptions that look almost like faces, consisting of two ‘eyes’ and a button—notice that each button has between one and four concentric circles, corresponding to those next to the pairs of holes. And in the centre of the wall is a button which will lower and raise the podium.
There are three settings for the ‘eyes’, which can be changed by pressing the button beneath them:
- Both closed (covered by the yellow caps);
- Left open (that is, the left cap is open, revealing the red ‘eye’ beneath;
- Both open (two red ‘eyes’).
Clearly, your task now to use the podium to get up to the second level of the amphitheatre, presumably by linking to the pedestal when the podium is at the second level as well. Try opening one ‘eye’ on each of the devices and pressing the central button. You’ll find that the podium will rise to the second level. Now walk back to the second pedestal, link to the first, and then to the third.
As you arrive at the third pedestal, however, the podium will begin to lower before you have time to step onto the bridge; and when you step off at the bottom level, it will return to its position on the second level. It is too finely balanced for you to simply link to the pedestal, and you will have to balance it to take account of your own weight.
So how much do you weigh? Judging from the sets of circles, it should be apparent than each ‘eye’ on the far left device has a weight value of four, since there are four circles on the button; that ‘eyes’ on the second device from the left have a weight value of three, since it has three circles on the button; and so on. Hence, with one eye open on each device, the weight value must be 10: 4+3+2+1. What happens if you set the device with one circle on the button to have two ‘eyes’ open, giving a total of 11 (4+3+2+2)? Open the second ‘eye’ by pressing the button beneath once, and then press the central button; the podium will rise even higher! And what if you close both ‘eyes’ on the device with one circle, giving a total of 9 (4+3+2+0)? The podium will lower to the bottom level. From this information it should be clear that the podium, when the Slate is placed on the pedestal, needs to be balanced to a weight of 10 in order to stay at the second—middle—level where the bridge is. Now you need to know how much you weigh. Stand on the scale again now—without the Slate—and you will find that two red indicators show on the row with three concentric circles. You weight ‘6’!
So you need to set the devices to a total of 16—that way, when you link to the pedestal and add your weight to the podium, it should balance at the second level, allowing you to cross the bridge. Open the two ‘eyes’ on the device with four circles (total 8); then open both ‘eyes’ on the three-circle device (total 14: 8+6); and then either one ‘eye’ on the two-circle device, or both on the one-circle device, bringing the total to 16 ( 8+6+2+0, or 8+6+0+2). Then go back to the second pedestal, link to the first, and then to the third.
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